Birthday Wishes
by OnTheTardis
Summary: The Doctor thinks about Donna on his 'birthday'. Spoilers: The end of Journey's End.


**This was written for my sister's birthday, she would have been 21. So again, sis, this is for you. **

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The Doctor sat alone in his usual chair at the kitchen table. His face saddened and his hearts heavy, as he looked down at the lone cupcake, with a pink and white striped candle sticking out of the top of it.

He straightened up and rested against the back of the chair with a tired sigh.

The lit candle beckoned to be blown out, but he found no point extinguishing it; his wish could never come true.

The TARDIS always felt so much bigger whenever a companion left.

The kitchen was no exception; she had spent a lot of time in that particular he now sought shelter in. Donna had loved to cook, she always had the TARDIS filled with wonderful aromas, and the Doctor would always beg her to make some delicious dessert or something of the kind.

She would complain, and roll her eyes, but in the end she would comply. She could never refuse him.

The Doctor smiled, he missed her.

He rested his elbows on the table his chin placed in his open palms. The Doctor breathed out softly causing the flame to waver, but not quench it.

Lately, her voice seemed to flood his mind, there were times when he would turn hoping to find her, but she was not there. It hurt in those moments, his head playing cruel tricks like that.

Today, especially, he kept hearing her, always referring to the reason why he had a cupcake before him now.

'What kind of Dumbo doesn't know his birthday?'

She hadn't meant it as an insult; it was just Donna being Donna.

He had tried to explain that after nine hundred and some odd years, certain things like birthday dates slipped his mind, and that celebrating the fact that he was getting older was not a big deal for him.

Other companions had asked him about the day he was born, but Donna hadn't settled for his 'he forgot' excuse.

'We're going to celebrate it, and that's final.'

The Doctor remembered watching her leave the room on that final note and he had just shrugged knowing that there was no point in arguing with her.

One of his fondest memories of her was when he had walked into the kitchen, and the sight before him made him stop in his tracks.

Donna was standing at the island, she was covered with flour from head to toe, egg shells gathered around her feet, globs of yellow battered splattered against the cabinets and dripped to the floor as well.

'What are you doing?' He had asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Donna walked over to him, a large glass bowl sat in the crook of her right arm, while her left index finger was held out to him, the batter coated on it.

'What?' He looked confused from the digit to her face and back again.

She rolled her eyes at him playfully, 'Will you just taste it?'

The Doctor peered into the bowl at the contents, 'What are those black things?'

'Poppy seeds.' She told him, sighing annoyingly.

'Why are…'

'Will you just taste it, eh?' She shoved her finger into his mouth and pulled it out quickly, as if she realized how disgusting the action was and she wiped it instantly on her jeans.

'Well?'

The Doctor swallowed the thick liquid, 'What is it?'

Donna looked down at her mixture and looked back up at him, 'Your birthday cake.' She said softly.

'Yes, I gathered, but what kind is it?'

'Lemon poppy. You like lemons, so don't you say that you don't.'

'Bananas.' He corrected her, 'But I like lemons too, they're my third favorite fruit.'

Donna's brow creased, 'What's your second favorite?'

The Doctor thought for a second, 'I don't know.'

She stared at him, 'Are you serious? You don't know? Lemons are your third favorite, but you don't have a second? Yeah, that makes sense.' She walked back to her station, "Well, you're going to have lemon poppy and you're going to like it, got it?'

The Doctor nodded silently, not telling her how much this mean to him and was glad that he had someone like Donna Noble in his life.

Later that night he had blown out pink and white striped candles and received a new tie from her, with the comment that he needed variety in his life. It was yellow with purple dots on it.

As they cleared the plates away and stored the cake she had told him to mark the day down, cause from now on this day would be the day they would celebrate his birthday.

He never could imagine that she would not be there for the next one. One short year, and she had been taken away.

The Doctor closed his eyes, knowing that the candle wax had melted onto the white frosting, but he wanted to make one wish just for her. He could not blow out the candle and have her back, but he could at least wish for Donna to have a wonderful life. He could see that she would be happy.

Opening his eyes, he looked down at the lemon poppy seed cupcake and thought of Donna before blowing the candle out.


End file.
